Please Kiss Him Instead!
by Bird of Dreams
Summary: Recently, Kageyama has been receiving what appears to be countless confession letters. The Karasuno volleyball team reacts appropriately with surprise, jealousy, and bemusement (depending on who you ask). But no one is more surprised than Hinata, who is confused and more than a little hurt that Kageyama never told him. But is that the real reason behind his conflicted feelings?


**A/N:** I know I should totally be working on _OGaC or GoMod _(many many apologies!) but, it was only a matter of time before I stepped foot into this fandom. No thanks to my friends for dragging me down into volleyball hell. Curse you, you cute, lovable volleyboys. Augh, seriously though, they're all such huge dorks and I just can't handle it.

Also, KageHina never fails to reduce me into a mass of fluffy, tooth-rotting mess and might as well be canon already. I'm well aware that there are some really incredible fics in this fandom already, but there's not nearly enough stories to commemorate the amazingness that is KageHina. So I decided to add my own into the mix. Yay? You can never have enough KageHina right? Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

**Summary:** Recently, Kageyama has been receiving what appears to be countless confession letters. The Karasuno volleyball team reacts appropriately with surprise, jealousy, and bemusement (depending on who you ask). But no one is more surprised than Hinata, who is confused and more than a little hurt that Kageyama never told him about them. But is that the real reason behind his conflicted feelings?

**Disclaimer:** All the lovable dorks of Haikyuu! belong to the awesome Haruichi Furudate. I do not own or claim to own anything.

* * *

**Please Kiss Him Instead!**

Hinata hummed softly to himself, a noticeable skip in his step as he headed toward the gym lockers. Today was going to be a great day of practice, he could just feel it. He simply couldn't wait to practice the new modified oddball quick with Kageyama. Just the thought of it made him quiver with excitement and he quickened his pace, eager to get started.

When Hinata bounded into the locker room and caught sight of the aforementioned black-haired setter rummaging around in his own locker, the middle blocker couldn't keep a bright smile from spreading across his own face. "Hey, Kageya...!"

"Mmph!" Hinata suddenly found a hand clamping firmly over mouth as another yanked him back by the collar of his gakuran. He instinctively fought against the hold of his assailant, kicking up quite a great fuss in the process.

"Geez, calm down, Hinata, it's just us!" A hissed whisper reached his ears.

Hinata felt himself visibly relax at the sound of the familiar voice, though he was bewildered as to why he was being handled so roughly. "What's the big idea—?"

"Shhh!" This time multiple voices hissed back. Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, Hinata complied, but turned around to try to make sense of the situation. The sight that greeted him was that of the entire Karasuno volleyball team huddling along one end of the lockers. His teammates were all mashed together in what appeared to be a highly uncomfortable manner, but that didn't seem to deter them in the slightest as they continued to crane their necks in a mostly futile attempt to sneak a peek.

Hinata only felt his confusion grow. "Why are we all spying on Kageyama?"

"Hush, Shouyou!" This time Hinata recognized to be Nishinoya's. "Just watch!" Hinata obeyed and poked his head back around the corner, hoping that everything would be made clear once he did so.

The entire Karasuno volleyball team (minus one setter) watched with baited breath as Kageyama pulled out a pale pink envelope from within his locker. As Kageyama stared at the envelope, a mixture of emotions flashed across his face—surprise, embarrassment, and strangely enough resignation? They watched as he frowned at the envelope, heaved a sigh, then stuffed it into his bag before making his way into the gym.

"That's the third one this week!" Tanaka hissed as soon as the coast was clear. He gnashed his teeth angrily while his tightly clenched fists twisted his towel into interesting shapes.

"What a lucky bastard!" Nishinoya exclaimed. "Ryuu, our underclassman seems to be getting a bit uppity these days, isn't he?"

"You're right, Noya-san! We need to teach Kageyama a lesson about disrespecting his senpai!"

"Uwoooh!" Both were so pumped up and burning with fighting spirit that one could nearly see fire blazing in their eyes.

"Now, now, calm down, both of you." Suga said, grabbing the back of Tanaka's shirt and indicating that Asahi do the same for Nishinoya. "No one's teaching anyone any lessons."

"Huh. But I would have never thought that His Majesty would turn out to be this popular," Tsukishima said. "Usually tyrants would be shunned instead."

"Good one, Tsukki." Yamaguchi snickered.

"Normally, this situation wouldn't be all that strange, but considering that it _is_ Kageyama we're talking about..." Daichi mused, looking equal parts amused and contemplative.

It was only then that it occurred to Hinata what the rest of the team were talking about. "What? Wait, was that a _confession letter_?"

The rest of the team stared back at him.

"I always knew you were an idiot, but not to this extent." Tsukishima scoffed.

Hinata was so dumbfounded in light of his recent epiphany that Tsukishima's insult failed to faze him in the slightest. He let out a disbelieving laugh. "Wait, wait, wait. You're all trying to tell me that Kageyama, pissy-faced, short-tempered, scary Kageyama got a confession letter?"

"Well now, no need to list his good points all at once," Tsukishima said sarcastically. Yamaguchi sniggered accordingly.

Hinata kept waiting for the team to laugh or give some sort sign to indicate that this was all just an elaborate joke. His confusion only mounted when they stared back at him with unreadable expressions.

"Confession _letters_, Shouyou," Nishinoya said, looking abnormally solemn. "This isn't the first time it happened. Like Ryuu said, that was the third one from just this week alone."

"You mean you didn't know?" Suga looked downright puzzled.

Hinata bit his lip. "No. I mean, he never mentioned anything about them..."

"Strange. I thought that he would have told you at the very least." Suga trailed off murmuring to himself. He and Daichi exchanged a significant look.

"Why would you say that, Suga-san?" Hinata asked, not really following the conversation.

Hinata was getting really tired of the team looking at him as if he suddenly sprouted another head or something.

Predictably enough, Tsukishima was the first one to quip, "Oh, for the love of..."

"Hinata, wouldn't you say that you are pretty close with Kageyama?" Yamaguchi cut in before insults could be exchanged.

"And out of all of us, he confides in you the most, doesn't he?" Asahi spoke up hesitantly.

"Yeah, but really? _Confession letters_?" Hinata repeated weakly as if he was still unable to wrap his head around the concept. "C'mon, this is Kageyama we're talking about!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that it's all that surprising really," Suga said thoughtfully. "Kageyama's very good-looking after all."

"What?" It was now Suga's turn to be stared at incredulously.

"What?" Daichi's voice held the faintest hint of a growl.

"I'm just pointing out, Daichi," Suga said as he placed a consoling hand on the other's arm. "That Kageyama fits the ideal of most girls. You know, the tall, dark, and handsome type? And ever since he toned down his attitude a bit, he has been a lot more approachable, especially as of late."

Hinata whirled around so quickly that he felt him give himself whiplash. "Wait, Kageyama approachable? Are we talking about the same person here? ...And enough with the staring already!"

Tsukishima sighed, choosing to adjust his glasses instead as he lost all interest in the conversation. "Poor thing. I wonder how you live life being so dumb."

Hinata was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to rise to Tsukishima's jab. Instead, he was trying to ignore the uneasy sensation that was bubbling up from his stomach. Kageyama got confession letters? How come this was his first time hearing about them? If they really were as close as Hinata thought they were, Kageyama would have at least mentioned something about them...right?

Hinata bit his lip in frustration. But if he was able to miss out on something as obvious as Kageyama being more approachable, then what else had he been missing? You might not know him as well as you think you do after all, a sly voice in his head supplied. Didn't you say before that you wanted to be the one closest to him?

The small middle blocker clenched a fistful of his clothes and tried to tell himself that the hurt he felt was merely from Kageyama keeping secrets from him and nothing else.

* * *

Hinata had very nearly forgotten about that morning's incident after a long, strenuous practice. Coach Ukai had been relentless today and it wasn't until the very end of practice that he and Kageyama had managed to nearly get the new quick down.

As Hinata stood with his hands on his knees, attempting to catch his breath, Kageyama wandered over with a towel in hand. "Oi, make sure to towel yourself off properly. Your hair looks like a bird's nest all stuck up like that."

"It does not!" Hinata squawked indignantly.

"Yes, it does," Kageyama reached out to ruffle the ginger hair, making it stick up even more. "See?"

"Stop it, idiot!" Hinata said, batting the other's hands away, but he couldn't stop his laughter from bubbling out.

Hinata's laughter was incredibly infectious and despite his best efforts of attempting to maintain his normal scowl, Kageyama soon found himself wearing an exasperated, fond sort of smile. "Hurry up, we're going to be late for class." As Hinata bounded forward eagerly, he caught sight of Suga eyeing them with a contemplative look in his eyes.

"Hurry up, Kageyamaaaa." Hinata said, fidgeting impatiently as he stood waiting for Kageyama to finish buying his drink from the vending machine.

"Shut up already, dumbass."

Hinata made a frustrated noise. "You're the one who said that we were going to be late if we didn't hurry!"

"Don't be so impatient." Hinata heard the crinkling of the wrapper as a straw was unwrapped and the telltale sucking sound which indicated that Kageyama most likely chose his customary milk. "Oi, Hinata."

"What?" Hinata turned around and almost got struck in the head with a juice box. "Whaa!" He fumbled with the cold drink for a few moments before he managed to grasp it securely. "What was that for? You could have hit me!"

"Says the dumbass who can't react in time. Are you going to drink it or not?"

"Eh?" Hinata realized only then that he was holding onto a carton of his favorite juice. "Wait, this is for me?"

"Obviously." Kageyama took a long sip from his own drink. "I had some extra money on me today. If you don't want it, give it back. "

"I want it!" Hinata exclaimed, clutching the juice box protectively. He felt an indescribable, gooey, warm feeling radiate from his chest. Hinata murmured almost shyly, "Thanks, Kageyama."

Kageyama coughed and looked away in response. "Sure."

Hinata noticed that the several girls who had lingered around the hallways to watch their interaction with avid eyes now began to giggle. "Kageyama-kun~" They chorused before dissolving into more giggles.

This seemed to snap Kageyama out of his daze. He gave a curt nod in the direction of the girls before looking away and quickening his pace, but Hinata couldn't help but notice that the setter's cheeks had developed the faintest tinge of pink. The girls only giggled louder at Kageyama's response before heated whispers spread across the hall like wildfire.

"Kageyama!" Hinata pounced like a crow on its prey. "What was that about?"

"Nothing." He still doggedly refused to look in the Hinata's direction.

"But they were—"

"I already said it was nothing, dumbass Hinata. Look, if you drop it, I'll buy you tempura for lunch."

Hinata immediately brightened. "I want two sets of them!"

"What the hell, dumbass? Do you have a stomach in place of a brain? I clearly said one!"

"Fine, just one then." Hinata pouted. "But I want a drink as well!"

"Then you're buying the meat buns on the way home." Kageyama said with a note of finality. "Now stop thinking about food and get to class already."

"Fineeee," Hinata walked a few steps toward his own classroom before muttering his next words so quietly that Kageyama almost didn't catch them. "It would be nice if I could get a confession letter as well..."

"For the last time, it's not!..." Kageyama sighed. The words he mumbled next were nearly inaudible. "Don't worry, you will."

"Huh? What was that?"

"Nothing! Go to class already, slowpoke!"

"Okay, no need to nag!"

Kageyama reached out to grab the ginger's head. "What was that?"

"Ow, ow, ow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm going now!"

"That's what I thought."

Hinata, preoccupied as he was with rubbing his aching head and muttering a few choice words about 'dumbass Kageyama', still couldn't help but notice how the girls' gazes continued to linger on the both of them.

* * *

Hinata was oddly quiet as the two of them made their way home. He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice how Kageyama threw him a faintly concerned look. After another moment of deliberation, Hinata finally decided to speak up. "Hey Kageyama?"

"What?"

Hinata was quiet for a moment. "When you get a girlfriend, are you going to be too busy for volleyball?" And for hanging out with me, he wanted to add, but bit his words back just in time.

Kageyama's brows furrowed. "What the hell, dumbass? I'm not going to get a girlfriend. Where did this stupid idea come from anyways?"

"Yeah, you are!" Hinata pointed an accusing finger. "What about all those confession letters then?"

Kageyama's brow furrowed even more. "What confession letters?"

"Don't play dumb. The team and I saw what you had in your locker!"

"Oh." Now it was Kageyama's turn to be quiet. "Those weren't...confession letters." The setter's cheeks took on the slightest pink hue as he said those words.

"Then what are they?"

"They're nothing I said!"

"Yes, they're something! Your cheeks wouldn't turn pink if it was nothing."

Kageyama looked away and refused to speak. The resulting silence was so awkward that it was nearly suffocating.

Hinata couldn't stand the tense atmosphere and decided to speak up again. "Look, I'm okay if you decided that you wanted to get a girl...girlfriend," Inwardly, Hinata cursed his voice for cracking, "But I thought we were at least close enough that you could tell me about it."

Kageyama whipped around with an unreadable expression on his face. Hinata immediately thought that he had overstepped his boundaries when Kageyama began to reach toward him with an open palm. Hinata squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the unforgiving hand to clamp down hard on his head. He was more than a little bewildered when he felt the other gently ruffle his hair instead.

"Dumbass," Kageyama said almost fondly. "That's not it. I'm not going to get a girlfriend, okay?"

"Promise?" Hinata asked almost petulantly.

Kageyama sighed, but answered all the same. "Promise. Besides, I wouldn't have time for one anyways since I spend all my time on volleyball and..." His cheeks darkened and he looked away again. "...and with you."

Hinata felt an answering blush heat up on his face and he found that he couldn't quite hold back the smile that suddenly split across his face. "Oh."

Kageyama coughed. "Yeah."

At this point, they had reached the fork in the road. Kageyama stopped and said, "Now go home and don't assume stupid things anymore, okay?"

"Yeah! See you tomorrow, Kageyama!" Hinata exclaimed, shooting the other a blinding smile. He completely missed the way that Kageyama's eyes had widened since he had long since pedaled away.

Hinata couldn't tell if the rapid fluttering of his heart was from the way he was pumping his legs furiously on his bike or if it was from his previous encounter with Kageyama. He could still feel the heat of the blush on his face even through the whipping winds and his mouth hurt from smiling so widely.

Hinata gave an exuberant hoot as he sped down the hill to his house. And so he pedaled home, with his heart on his sleeve and the fluttering sensation of hope giving him wings.

* * *

The next day saw another day of hard practice. As everyone lay sprawled out around the gym in various states of exhaustion, Hinata fleetingly wondered if it was actually possible for Coach Ukai's training regiment to kill them before they even got the chance to compete in the tournament.

"Kageyama-san," Everyone was surprised to see Kiyoko approach the black-haired setter, who was gripping the net with one hand to support himself, with a smiling Yachi in tow. "If you have some time to spare right now, could I speak to you for a moment? There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"Uh, sure." Kageyama looked puzzled but got to his feet and followed their manager out the gym doors.

Tanaka and Nishinoya immediately leapt to their feet. "That's it!" Tanaka yelled.

"How dare he flirt with our precious Kiyoko-san! I can't forgive him for this!" Nishinoya proclaimed.

"I'm sure it's nothing like that." As usual, Suga attempted to do control damage.

"But they could be talking about anything out there!" Tanaka said just as Nishinoya added, "For all we know she could secretly be confessing her love to him!"

Yachi giggled quietly. "Oh no, it's nothing of that sort."

"Yachi!" Hinata rushed over to their other manager. "Did you know that Kageyama has been receiving confession letters from the girls of our grade?"

A confused look passed over her features. "Confession letters? What do you mean?..." Realization suddenly hit her and Yachi doubled over laughing. She attempted to cover up her giggles with her hand, but they continued to spill out. "Oh no, is that what you think?"

"What do you mean by that, Yachi?" Daichi asked.

But Yachi was spared from answering when not a moment later, Kiyoko and Kageyama walked back in. Everyone immediately zeroed in on the fact that Kageyama was sporting a visible blush on his face, though he literally tried to cover up this fact with his hand.

"Ohhh? The King is blushing?" Tskishima's timely jeer rang through the court. "And here I thought that blushing was too plebian of an action for royalty."

"Shut up." Kageyama snapped back, though the effect was largely lost due to his flushed features.

"Kageyama!" Tanaka and Nishinoya were so incensed that they didn't notice the barely discernible glance the setter threw at Hinata, only to quickly look away as his blush deepened.

Yachi had on an encouraging smile and walked over to pat Kageyama on the arm. "You can do it!"

Kiyoko also had on a small smile as she walked past the two. "Good luck, Kageyama-san."

Kageyama merely grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, threw another quick glance at the ginger-haired blocker, before speeding off to the locker rooms so quickly it was as if his feet had sprouted wings.

"Come back here, Kageyama! We're not done talking yet!" Tanaka and Nishinoya's calls echoed after the setter.

"Ohh.." Suga blinked as understanding suddenly flooded him, his sharp insight quickly piecing together the clues from the previous interaction. He shared a meaningful look with Daichi. "I see. Well, haven't we been looking at this wrong the entire time."

"I always thought it was strange that Hinata knew nothing about the letters. So this is the real reason why." Daichi chuckled.

Observant Tsukishima, who also managed to pick up on the real situation, snorted. "This is stupid."

"Eh, what is?" Yamaguchi cocked his head. "Tell me, Tsukki! Tsukkiii!"

As Tsukishima left with Yamaguchi tailing him, Hinata was left wondering why Suga and Daichi-senpai were shooting such cryptic smiles at him.

* * *

Hinata arrived to school earlier than usual the next morning, determined to beat Kageyama to the lockers. It wasn't as if he had any impure intentions of wanting to catch Kageyama with a confession letter or something, Hinata reassured himself, no, he just...really wanted to beat Kageyama to the lockers first!

When Hinata skidded into the locker room, having broken into a run along the way, he had to physically stop and blink a few times to make sure he was, in fact, seeing what he thought he was seeing. Was he still dreaming or was that really Kageyama who was attempting to stick an envelope into Hinata's own locker?

"Kageyama?" Hinata called out.

The setter flinched violently at the sound of his name and whirled around, looking as if he were caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. His deer in the headlights look was visible even from a distance. Confused, Hinata walked forward and knelt down to pick up the envelope (pale cream in color and bordered with really beautiful sunset orange trim) that Kageyama had dropped in his shock.

"This is yours, right? You dropped it." Hinata extended the envelope, ignoring the sensation of his stomach dropping as he did so.

"No." Hinata found it strange that Kageyama was looking away from him again. Before Hinata could ask Kageyama to clarify what he meant, the setter blurted out, "It'syours," and sped away into the gym.

Hinata wandered into the gym in a daze, the envelope still clutched in his hand.

"Hinata!" Tanaka greeted. His eyes slid down to the thing that Hinata was holding so carefully in his hand. "Hey, what's that you got there?"

"Huh?" Hinata blinked, jolting back into reality. "Uhm, it's..."

"Oh, is that another one of Kageyama's love letters?" Nishinoya said. "Man, he's really following in the Grand King's footsteps, huh?" Nishinoya chuckled at his own joke and was soon joined in by Tanaka.

"Good one, Noya-san!"

A mischievous glint suddenly appeared in Nishinoya's eyes. "Well, let's see then!"

"Wait!" Hinata called out, aghast, but the quick libero had already snatched the envelope out of his hands.

Hinata remained rooted in place and watched with wide eyes as the envelope was opened. Nishinoya's own eyes widened in surprise. "Huh? It's addressed to Shouyou! You lucky dog, you got one as well?"

"Ooh! What does it say, Noya-san? Read it!"

"Noya! That's an invasion of privacy!" Asahi chided.

"Aw, Shouyou, doesn't mind, does he? Besides, I bet that you're curious as well! Let's see...it says, '_Hinata, I once told you that as long as you were with me, I would make you invincible._"

The entire team froze in shock when they realized that only one person could have written those words. Hinata felt his mouth go dry and couldn't contain the feeling of hope that sputtered to life in his chest. It couldn't be...could it?

As one, everyone's heads swiveled over to one black-haired setter's direction. Kageyama's expression was frozen in horrified shock and he looked like he was ready to bolt at any second, but Yachi walked over and placed an encouraging hand on his arm.

"Keep reading." Yachi urged gently.

Nishinoya complied, but his expression changed to a more serious one. "'_Hinata, I once told you that as long as you were with me, I would make you invincible. But in truth, it's you who makes me feel invincible. The way you jump while placing 100% of your trust in me—it's an indescribable feeling. It never fails to make my heart feel like it's flying, much like those ridiculous jumps of yours._

_I know I don't say this often enough, but you're amazing, Hinata Shouyou. And I'm not just talking about your jumps or your natural athleticism. You truly are like the sun and people can't help but gravitate toward you, much like how I found myself doing._

_Believe me, I tried to ignore you and initially wrote you off as someone unnecessary to the game. But your potential, much like yourself, was just too blinding and not something that could be easily ignored. Hinata, you were the one who made volleyball fun to play again. You gave me a purpose outside of just winning. You showed me the importance and the true meaning of playing in a team. Without you, I would still be stuck with the mindset of the 'King of the Court', never to move forward or improve. _

_Hinata, you once said that you would follow me wherever I would go. You even said that you would stand at the top of the world with me. Even after hearing what I have to say, will you continue to stand together with me, both on and off the court?'_ It's signed from one Kageyama Tobio." Nishinoya finished quietly.

The libero's words were met with a long stunned silence. Kageyama looked as though he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

The strained silence was broken when Tsukishima, as expected, made a mocking comment. "Wow, who knew that His Majesty had such a way with words?"

"S-Shut up, asshole." Kageyama growled. His face still looked as though it was suffering from a bad sunburn.

"Wait, are you saying that you like me, Kageyama?" Hinata's expression, much like his tone of voice, was full of disbelief.

"...Kageyama just poured his heart out to you by letter and you respond by asking him if he likes you?" Tanaka asked incredulously.

Hinata flushed. "I-I don't know! I'm just making sure?"

At this, Kageyama seemed to collect himself. "I can't believe that you're such a dumbass, dumbass!"

"Hey, I'm not a dumbass!"

"Yes, you are! Dumbass idiot Hinata!"

"That doesn't make sense, stupid! You have to pick one! Idiot or dumbass which one is it?"

"You're both, idiot dumbass!"

"Oh, look they even have pet nicknames for each other." Tsukishima cooed.

"Shut up!" Both of them whirled around to snap at the same time.

Tsukishima raised his hands in surrender though his expression remained as unperturbed as ever. "Oooh, scary."

"But why did you choose to write a letter instead of just being upfront about it?" Hinata asked.

Kageyama made a frustrated noise. "Idiot! Did you forget? You were the one who said that you wanted a confession letter in the first place!"

"What?" Hinata looked properly abashed for a moment. "I...yeah, but, but a confession should be more _bwaah!_ like more _boosh!_ or, or..."

Completely fed up, Kageyama took a step forward, grabbed hold of the front of Hinata's shirt and pressed his lips against the other's. Shocked gasps and an excited squeal (courtesy of Yachi) filled the gym.

Kageyama's blush was visible as ever, but his words were steady. "I like you, Hinata Shouyou. Go out with me. Is that enough of a confession for you?"

"Y-Y-You can't just do that to someone!" Hinata squawked as he hastily backed up several steps. Seeing Kageyama's frown, he immediately said, "Not that I didn't l-like it, but you...you have to give some sort of warning!"

"What? Do you want me to say Hinata, I'm going kiss you now?"

"Yes! I mean no! I mean augh! You need to let me prepare myself, idiot!"

"You're the idiot for acting that way, idiot. Why are you so flustered?"

"Because I just never thought that..."

"That the previously one-sided love you've been pining away for is actually requited," Tsukishima deadpanned.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean augh don't put words in my mouth!"

Tanaka squinted, as if examining Kageyama for signs of falsehood. "Then what about all those other confession letters you got?

"Yeah!" Hinata seemed to regain his bearings. "What Tanaka-senpai said! And the way that the girls kept looking at you!"

"I already told you that they weren't confession letters!" Kageyama said. He exhaled noisily. "And they weren't just looking at me," he turned away, embarrassed. "They were looking at...us."

"What Kageyama-kun said is right." Yachi giggled. "Those letters weren't confession letters at all."

"Yachi!" Kageyama looked relieved. "Do you still have them?"

"Yes!" With Kiyoko's help, Yachi went to the storage room and carried out a large, nondescript, black duffle bag. When the team zipped open the bag, they found that it was filled to the brim with countless envelopes and letters.

"These are all the letters that Kageyama got?" Asahi asked.

"Yes. That's all of them." Yachi confirmed.

"...Why does Yachi have them though?" Suga asked, confused.

"Yachi insisted on keeping all of them as evidence..."

"Evidence for what?" Suga looked even more confused.

Kageyama huffed. "You'll see in a moment."

"Well, go on then," Yachi encouraged. "You wanted Kageyama to prove that they weren't confession letters, right?"

Emboldened, the team reached for the letters closest to them.

"Here's one!" Nishinoya raised an envelope that was decorated with cute hearts. "Let's see...mine says, '_Kageyama-kun, you and Hinata-kun are just sooo cute together! Please do us all a favor and ask him out already!_'" His words were met with a brief period of silence. "So it's a..."

"A get-together letter." Kageyama's face was scrunched up in resigned torment. "I know."

Tanaka cleared his throat. "Mine says, '_We're all tired of watching you beat around the bush! When are you going to ask Hinata-kun out already? I'm sure he's waiting for it as well!'_ Geez, are all of them like this?"

"Unfortunately..."

Yamaguchi picked up the next one. "This one says, '_Since Hinata-kun is too oblivious about the whole thing, it's up to you to take charge. Kageyama-kun, ask him out already!_'"

"I think," Daichi said in a loud voice. "That we can safely assume that the rest of the letter all contain similar contents." Several members of the team were now throwing Kageyama oddly pitying looks.

But Tanaka wouldn't relent just yet. "But what about when Kiyoko-san called Kageyama out the other day?"

Kiyoko blinked. "Oh, no, you are all very much mistaken."

"Shimizu-senpai was just trying to encourage Kageyama-kun to confess his feelings already." Yachi explained. "Especially since Kageyama-kun was acting so stubborn about the whole thing."

"I wasn't being stubborn. I was waiting for the right time." Kageyama mumbled.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I think we've all wasted enough time here." Daichi said. The team immediately scrambled to their feet when they saw their captain begin to smile. "Let's not cut into our practice any more than we already have, okay?"

"OSU!"

As Hinata walked past Kageyama, the latter said, "Don't think that I'll just let you slack off now."

"Of course not!" Hinata said indignantly. "Nothing changes on the court!"

As he settled into position, Hinata couldn't help but glance back to where Kageyama was standing.

He quickly looked away when he saw Kageyama staring back. He gulped. Have Kageyama's eyes always been this sharp and intense? Hinata immediately found himself taking back his previous words.

The middle blocker had never been so aware of the other before and now that he was, Hinata found it incredibly difficult to concentrate, especially with Kageyama's intense stare piercing his back. Practice...was going to be difficult today.

* * *

As expected, Hinata spent the entire practice in a daze. He kept wondering if he was dreaming and alternated between sneaking glances at Kageyama (and his perfect form, perfect tosses, perfect body...wait what?) and pinching himself ("Oi! Stop doing that already, dumbass!") to confirm that he was in fact awake.

Before he knew it, practice was over for the day and everyone filed into the locker rooms to change out of their sweaty clothes. As Hinata lifted the edge of his shirt and prepared to pull it over his head, he suddenly became extremely self-conscious of the fact that his locker was right next to Kageyama's.

He threw a hesitant glance to his left, but didn't catch sight of the other. Kageyama must have changed quickly and gone ahead. Hinata was a bit disappointed by this, but he was mostly grateful that he had a moment to try to compose himself.

How was he supposed to act around Kageyama now? How did he normally act with Kageyama? He hoped that their newfound revelation didn't interfere too much with their dynamics on the court.

Hinata was relieved to see Kageyama waiting for him outside the gym. A small part of him was afraid that the other might have bolted. Hinata reckons that in Kageyama's place, he might have very well done so.

The two of them stood awkwardly for a moment before Kageyama cleared his throat and asked, "Do you want to go grab some meat buns?"

Hinata immediately perked up at the offer of food. "Yes!" He bounded over and happily looped an arm through Kageyama's own, pretending not to notice how the other jolted up in surprise at the sudden physical contact. "Free food!"

"Oi, just because we're going out now doesn't mean that you can just freeload food off me."

There was a pause as Hinata blinked large doe eyes up at the other. "So are we going out, Kageyama?"

Kageyama spluttered. "I...I mean only if you want to..."

"I want to!" Hinata said emphatically. Suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious, he muttered his next words shyly. "I mean I like you too."

Kageyama stiffened in surprise at his admission and Hinata was delighted to see a small, but genuine smile curve up the setter's lips. "And you know I like you, idiot," he said almost fondly. "So what's the problem then?"

"Nothing." Hinata laced his fingers through Kageyama's own, enjoying the feeling of the setter's strong, lean fingers. He felt the other give a start of surprise at his initiative. Hinata asked a little nervously, "Is this okay?"

A blush crept up on the other's face, but Hinata felt Kageyama's fingers tighten on his own. "Yeah..."

Hinata felt his own blush appear and hid his face in Kageyama's jacket. "I was worried you know?" He mumbled into the other's sleeve.

"What?"

"I said I was worried when I saw how you were getting all those confession letters."

Kageyama made an impatient noise at the back of his throat. "Idiot, how many times do I have to tell you that that wasn't it?"

"Well, how was I supposed to know? Especially when...mmph?" For the second time of the day, Hinata found his lips being claimed by Kageyama. Unlike their first hurried kiss, which was just a simple press of the lips, this one was slow and tender and Hinata felt his lips tingling when they broke apart breathing much heavier than they did a few moments ago.

"I guess I found a new way to shut you up." Kageyama smirked, looking all sorts of pleased.

Hinata felt his blush come back in full force. "That was foul play, Kageyama."

"Like I said before, would you rather I give you a warning before doing it then?"

"Yes! I mean no! I mean...augh just kiss me again already!"

"Impatient as always." But Kageyama complied all the same and when he felt Kageyama's smile against the curve of his own lips, Hinata already felt, at that moment, like he was standing on top of the world.

* * *

When Kageyama and Hinata arrived at school the next day holding hands, the surrounding girls who—Hinata was slightly disturbed to see—were watching them like hawks, erupted into screams and cheers.

"Finally!"

"It's about time!"

"Congratulations!"

Kageyama growled, already feeling a migraine building at the incessant voices. As if sensing his discomfort, Hinata gave his hand a slight squeeze and shot him a bright smile. Well, if this is what he has to make up for it, Kageyama muses as he looks fondly down at his own personal ball of sunshine, he supposes that it isn't so bad after all.

"Kageyama-kun! Can we get a picture of the both of you kissing?"

"_No!_"

* * *

**A/N:** And that's a wrap! Well that definitely ended up being longer than I thought it would. (stares at fic and wonders how it went from a 2k oneshot to a 6k...thing). I hope you enjoyed reading about the adventures of my dumdum babies (I'm looking at you Kageyama and Hinata).

On a side note, Kageyama is so uncreative with his cursing I just can't. Also, I hope that his letter wasn't too out of character/ cheesy aaah (hides in volleyball supply closet) And did I mention how Yachi is the best wingwoman ever? Haha.

Also, if you were wondering, this fic's title is a reference to the Junko's manga, _Please Kiss Him Instead of Me!_ If you read the series before, you'll understand how well this fits. Needless to say, I would probably act like those girls who kept overwhelming Kageyama with the letters haha (^is shameless).

So did you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it? Please let me know what you think! Reviews of any sort are love!

**-Bird of Dreams**


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